Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Tag: Blogtober

  • My Favorite Fictional Witches 🧙‍♀️

    I love movies, books, and tv shows about witches. They are inaccurate, over the top, hyperbolic, and totally my preferred entertainment. Here is a list of 5 of my favorite fictional witches:

    1. Granny Weatherwax – Terry Pratchett wrote his non leader of the witches in discworld to be a complex, nuanced, no nonsense woman and I hope I can have half her moxie when I grow up.

    2. Willow Rosenberg – Yes, she went evil for a bit and yes, she is a little out of control, but I loved her for so many seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before that, so…

    3. The various Owens sisters – It’s a cheat I know but I love the aunts and the sisters and the aunt’s aunt from the prequel. The Owens women make Practical Magic, well magical. Lol.

    4. Nancy Downs – The “crazy” member of the Coven in The Craft. She is the weirdo mister. Probably shouldn’t have invoked the spirit.

    5. The Coven – American Horror Story: Coven is still my favorite season and these girls are why. From the dramatic Fiona to the shy Zoe to the strong Queenie I love every one of these witches.

    Runners up: The Sanderson Sisters, Mildred Hubble, etc. I love witchy fiction!

    Who are your favorite fictional witches? Are there any you just hate? Tell me about it.

  • Welcome to Blogtober!!

    Welcome to Blogtober!!

    It is that time of year again, my favorite month and the month when I blog everyday. I have no idea what that might involve for 2020, but expect lots of fun fall, Halloween and other such content. Also some poetry, because that is what I am studying currently in school.

    On a gorgeous Sunday in mid-September I met with several members of the International Wenches Guild as well as The Witches of Willy-Nilly to record our version of the Hexenbrut. We gathered in the Sunhenge at the Renaissance Festival dressed in our witchy finery. After a few practice runs, we created a masked and socially distanced dance. The video was finally released by the Ohio Renaissance Festival, so I am free to share.

    This was an absolute blast to do, and it looks pretty good too! Dance along if you know it.

    Happy Blogtober!! Happy Full Moon!! See you tomorrow!!

  • Happy Halloween!

    Happy Halloween!

    As a child I was at once terrified of Halloween and in love with it. When we would walk past the racks of masks and decorations in the store I would cry, or close my eyes and hide because it all scared me. I was often scared of other trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood, their costumes being to scary for the incredibly timid, shy and easily scared me.

    Once my mom worked very hard to make me a Miss Piggy costume, but a kid in our neighborhood was dressed as a very spooky wolf with light up red eyes. I was no fool and read a lot of fairy tales, so I knew my little piggy self would not stand a chance against that wolf on the street. I made my mom take me home early, because the promise of candy was not enough for me to risk getting torn to bits by that wolf. Did I know in my head that it was just another kid in a costume, yes, but to my incredibly active imagination there was a chance, however small, that the wolf was real and I was at risk.

    I was a child with an overactive imagination and Halloween was sometimes just too much for my poor head to wrap around. I also had very little understanding of the line between fantasy and reality (my first crushes were on Disney’s Robin Hood and Kermit the Frog and I did not consider either of them to be anything less than real). It is an issue that I still occasionally have problems with, but at least now I can usually tell the difference between a monster and a mask on a wall.

    Halloween would grow from a force of fear and fascination into a proper obsession. Many of my everyday home decor comes from the Halloween decor in stores; skulls, bats, ravens, crows, and the occult. Every year less and less of our Halloween decorations are taken down, so the house gets more and more Halloween all year round. I think it is amazing that I am still somewhere inside the little girl who would hide her face when Halloween was out in the stores. Maybe I am just the brave woman that a scared little girl becomes when she faces her fears. If you can’t beat it embrace it?

    Halloween Blessings!

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  • Vampire Obsessed Girl Redux…Vamps on Film

    In my previous post I shared my favorite vampire fiction in books, so today I thought I would share my favorite vampire films. I love many different types of vampire movies; some that are serious and some that are campy fun. Vampires are some of my favorite folklore and I love even the most ridiculous forms they take. Here are some of my absolute favorites.

    Do you have a favorite vampire movie?

  • Rasputina…Powerful, Unusual Cello Rock

    I can remember the first time I heard the band Rasputina. I had read about the band in Entertainment Weekly, and then their album Thanks for the Ether arrived via Columbia House (This is also how I found and fell in love with Tori Amos). I asked to be allowed to keep it and thus began a love affair that has spanned two decades. I fell in love with the heavy cello, beautiful melodies and unusual lyrics. The first song to stand out to me was “Transylvanian Concubine” a lovely song about Vampires; Lyrical standout “Transylvanian Concubine, You know what flows here like wine.” I also loved the song “Stumpside” and “My little Shirtwaist Fire.” The band, well Melora Creager the lead singer/cellist, wrote a song about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire! A tragedy that had long fascinated me.

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    I eagerly awaited their next album How We Quit the Forest and snatched up the interim release Transylvania Regurgitations which featured songs from Thanks for the Ether remixed and remastered by Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez. How We Quit The Forest brought more unusual and wonderful music. Songs like “Leechwife” and “The New Zero” caught me and had me singing along. “Rose K” had me looking into the story of Rose Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy’s as well as her lobotomized daughter Rose Marie.

    I am ridiculously excited that I get to see them in concert again tomorrow night. I saw them once in 2004 or so when they played at Little Brothers (now closed) in Columbus. Tomorrow they are playing Rumba Cafe which is a lovely and intimate space for a show. I am trying to decide what I want to wear to the show. Rasputina is famous for their Victorian style so it is tempting to break out a corset for the event. I have a gorgeous brown corset from Damsel in This Dress with a layered cream colored cropped bodice that would look good with a skirt or jeans, so I may go with that look. We shall see.

     

     

  • Celebrating the Last Day of Festival

    Today was the last day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival for 2019. This was an amazing year for me. The wenches guild is growing and developing into something wonderful and the fact that I am a part of that is a massive source of pride for me. The wenches of Local 73 are some of the loveliest and kindest women and I am proud to be among them.

    I tried to get photos with as many wenches as possible today, and I have a collection of photos to share. I am sharing here first. 🙂

  • Things that I want to do someday

    Do you have a list of things that you would love to do when you have the money, bravery or opportunity? I certainly do. So here are some of the things I have always wanted to do/try:

    1. Burlesque – I love to watch burlesque and have always wanted to perform. Maybe one day. I did just get VIP seats to an amazing burlesque show in January!!
    2. Fire Eating/Breathing – The two kinda go hand in hand and I would love to take a class to learn it.
    3. Skydiving – Strictly tandem, but I have always wanted to try.
    4. Roller Derby – I am a Ohio Roller Derby super fan, and would love to be able to play. I roller skate well, but I am not sure if I am fit enough for that.
    5. Play the Ukelele – I have the ukelele, but I am not great at it. I need to learn to play it. This is probably the most doable.

    Do you have any dreams like this? What would you love to do?

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  • Looking into The Future

    I was gifted with my first tarot deck when I was 16. It was the Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews and it was a gift from my older sister Krystie. I fell in love immediately and I have been doing readings since. For the first year or so I carried the deck with me everywhere I went and slept with it beneath my pillow. I had a notebook where I would write down the meanings of the cards, and any insights I might have about the cards as I was reading. After a couple of years I no longer needed the book or my notes to read.

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    Currently I am waiting for a new tarot deck and an oracle deck that my husband backed for me on Kickstarter. One is The Oriens Tarot Deck by AmbiSun which is a Rider-Waite-Smith based deck that features animals on the cards. The art work is gorgeous and it will be coming to me from Australia. The oracle is the Witches of Legend oracle deck by Annabelle Lewis. It is still open for three more days, and the artwork on it is gorgeous.

    The tarot I use the most currently is the Deviant Moon tarot by Patrick Valenza. I was gifted the Crow Tarot by MJ Cullinane by my younger sister Traci for my birthday this year and the deck and I are still getting to know each other.

    Have you ever had your cards read? Do you read as well? Do you practice another form of divination?

     

  • Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice

    Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice

    Fall enters on a breeze scented with cinnamon in my world. Cinnamon, clove, ginger and the smell of piles of falling leaves kicked up when you walk in them. The autumn brings with it candles, wax melts, pine cones and so much more in all the spicy wonderful scents that I cannot get enough of.

    I am a basic witch who loves all things pumpkin spice, but that is because it is spice. The spices used in typical Pumpkin Spice are cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and sometimes allspice. All the yummy spicy goodness leads to wonderful smells.

    There are few smells in this world that make me feel as cozy as the smell of cinnamon. It brings me back to days baking with my grandmother for the fall; making cooked apples or pumpkin pie. Sometimes baking cookies with snickerdoodles rolling them in cinnamon sugar and having cinnamon fingers for the rest of the day.

    There is a cookie I love to bake, that I found in the Witches Datebook from Llewellyn several years ago. They are called Beltane Passion Cookies, but they smell and taste of  autumn to me.

    Beltane Passion Cookies

    3/4 cup unsalted butter

    1 cup brown sugar

    1 egg

    1/4 cup molasses

    1 3/4 cups whole grain flour

    1/2 tsp salt

    3 tsp ground cinnamon

    1 1/2 tsp ground cloves

    5 tsp powdered ginger

    1/8 tsp granulated sugar

    2 tsp baking soda

    1/2 cup crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped (optional)

    Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a hand mixer cream the butter with the sugar then beat in the egg and molasses. Sift all the dry ingredients into a medium bowl, then stir into the wet batter. Add crystallized ginger. Roll batter into 1 inch balls and dip one side into granulated sugar. Place sugar side up on baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

    I may have to whip some of these up next week for Samhain. A little passion never hurt at any time of the year.

    What smells are fall to you?

  • Ready to Write

    Ready to Write

    I am working on getting myself geared up for NaNoWriMo and starting classes in my new major next week, so I have been looking on Pinterest for inspiration from other writers to get me geared up and ready to go. I have already read through the syllabi for my classes and feel like I picked up some really interesting advice from that.

    I am the kind of reader who once I have fallen in love with a book I will read that book again and again. In an announcement for my class English 510: Studying the Craft my instructor Amy Myer advised us:

    “Chances are, you’ve all heard that adage that a good writer is a good reader. True. But does that mean to be a good reader means to read all the classics? To read all the yearly award winners? To read book after book after book after book? 

    No. 

    To be a good reader is to read widely …within reason. But more importantly than that, it’s reading repeatedly those books that call to you. The ones that told you you want to be a writer. The ones that you read and sigh and say, “I hope I can write like this someday” or “I hope I can craft a story this thrilling someday.”

    She would go on to explain that the first time we read a book or story all we read is plot. On second and third readings we can find more and really examine the craft in the piece. For the class we need to choose two books one classic (30 years old or more) and one contemporary and she recommends choosing a book you have read before, as both books have to be read during the course. I have a couple of ideas on which books I may want to use; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for my contemporary and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath as my classic. These are subject to change, but were my initial thoughts.

    Are there books that you have read again and again? What are they and why do you love them? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?